Synopsis
Filth & Wisdom is a poignant view of the lives of three not quite ordinary friends settled into meaningless jobs that barely keep them afloat while helping to finance their dreams of bigger and brighter futures. Their unique yet universal stories capture their struggles that are at turns funny and tragic but always brutally honest. Their intertwined lives explore the inevitable: a path paved with filth will often end in wisdom and one paved with wisdom will often end in filth.
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Cast
- Eugene HutzA.K.
- Holly WestonHolly
- Vicky McClureJuliette
- Richard E. GrantProf Flynn
- Inder ManochaSardeep
- Clare WilkieChloe
- Elliot LeveyBusinessman
- Stephen GrahamHarry Beechman
- Hannah WaltersBusinessman's Wife
- Shobu KapoorSardeep's Wife
Recommendations
- 60
Village Voice
There's an undeniably funky charm and abiding can-do spirit to this loose-knit portrait of three London flatmates trying to make their way in the world. - 50
Entertainment Weekly
The movie is short on wisdom, but it might have gotten by if it had had better filth. - 50
Salon
A charming but silly love letter to a vanished era of urban bohemia? - 50
USA Today
Madonna's directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, feels more like a collection of scenes than a fully drawn film. - 30
The New York Times
Not that Madonna has gone in for originality, which isn't really her thing: rather, instead of repurposing a genre, she has riffled through the art-house catalog for inspiration, as evidenced by the film's intentionally grubby visual texture, jumpy editing, direct-address commentary, freeze frames and other tricks. - 25
The A.V. Club
Madonna presents the three leads as flawed but essentially decent and redeemable, but they're bound up in a story that's meant to affirm a vague set of values. If she needs to justify the "Sex" book by charting her own contrived path from filth to heavenly wisdom, that's fine. But she should do it on her own time. - 20
The Hollywood Reporter
Ragged, uneven and potholed with some dire dialogue and performances. - 20
Variety
Ineptly written and helmed story of three Londoners, although quite bad, does have a few redeeming features.
